Key Note Speakers

How do we energize our community?

Several members of NextGenLeaders provide established or customized keynote talks. Give us a call to talk about how we can best match one of our outstanding speakers to your needs

Michael Bungay Stanier

The 5 Essential Questions for Great Work

In most organizations there’s a lot of busy-ness going on. People are working hard, people are getting things done.

The only problem is that often enough they’re not working on the right things in the right way. Somehow being busy became more important than being focused.

This is not your typical keynote; it’s a challenging, sometimes provocative and highly interactive session where participants will actually seek to answer five essential questions. Working with the goal of creating more Great Work – work that has more impact, work that has more meaning – participants will have a chance to stop and think, find new focus on what really matters, and gain new insight as to the best way forward.

Participants leave not only with new insight and new direction about their own work, but also with a simple and powerful tool they can use to manage and influence others in their organization.

"I’ve been developing business conferences for The Conference Board of Canada for over 10 years now during which time I’ve likely seen and heard close to two thousand speakers. I have no hesitation in saying you are one of the best I’ve ever seen. Your average rating of 4.9 out of 5 across both events confirms this judgment."
John Brewer, Conference Board of Canada

Michael Bungay Stanier is the Senior Partner and Founder of Box of Crayons, a company that helps organizations and their people do less Good Work and more Great Work. Michael has published five books, the best known of which is Do More Great Work. He’s an acclaimed speaker, and has keynoted at HRPA, CSTD, SHRM, Evanta, The Conference Board and Training Magazine events, as well as organizations ranging from AstraZeneca to Xerox. You can learn more about Michael at http://www.boxofcrayons.biz/aboutbox-of-crayons/michael-bungay-stanier/ and his other speaking topics at

Simon Trevarthen

Pushing the Elephant: Making Innovation Happen in a Big Organization

Ignite the spark of innovation with this dynamic keynote on HOW to plant the seeds of an innovative culture. In this session, learn how to:

become a change agent,

navigate obstacles and objections and,

use “camouflage” and “guerilla” change techniques to harness the hidden innovation in your company.

No militia gear required: just great ideas and the desire to stay ahead of the game.

Inspire U: Ignite Your Purpose and Master Your Leadership

Inspiration is the zest of highly successful leaders. Your ability to lead depends on your power to inspire others to action. This energy packed keynote gives you the tools to clarify and ignite your purpose, fuel your personal leadership story, and master a narrative of your unique talents that will mobilize your tribe.

Two Matches and a Piece of String: an Innovator’s Survival Kit

Innovation from point zero: learn how to jump start the innovation process, in your team. In this energy fuelled keynote, the audience will learn secrets of innovators “mindset”, innovator’s survival tools and how to scale an idea into a game changing innovation.

Mastery of the spoken word is the mark of a great leadership. In this inspiring keynote, learn how elevate your presentation and stage presence far beyond the average. Being great means mastering:

the spoken word,

how you speak,

your body language,

voice and stage presence.

This talk has it all in spades.

The Magic Pitch: How to Sell Any Idea or Product in 5 minutes

Whether you are speaking to investors, decision makers or peers, persuading others to buy-in to your idea or product is key to achieving results. Learn how to develop and deliver a magic pitch that will intrigue, inspire and influence your audience. This dynamite talk walks through:

must-have elements of a successful pitch,

how to instantly connect and build rapport,

the secret spice of a magnetic presence that will clinch the deal and turn your audience into raving fans.

Stephen Shedletzky

How great teams and organizations pull together

Some organizations have cultures where their people are able to trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other. Other cultures, no matter what incentives are offered, are doomed to infighting, fragmentation and failure. Why?

Since 2011, Stephen Shedletzky has worked in partnership with Simon Sinek and his team to help leaders and organizations create more fulfilling places to work.

Using Simon’s concepts and Stephen’s own examples, Stephen explains how leaders can harness the natural drivers that exist in us all to create an environment that attracts the right people; inspires their engagement and loyalty, for employees and customers alike; and encourages them to work together to create remarkable results.

When leaders set the right conditions for their people, individuals instinctively support one another and overcome the constant dangers that threaten our ability to thrive in today’s marketplace.

Stephen draws on material from Simon’s books, Leaders Eat Last and Start With Why. When the concepts are used together, organizations can become truly fulfilling places to work.

Cinnie Noble

Building Conflict Capable Leaders and Organizations

Effective conflict management is not a core competency in many organizations and yet, the importance of having conflict capable leaders at the helm cannot be overstated. The financial costs of poorly managed conflict is just one concern facing workplaces. Other costs include decreased productivity, low morale, absenteeism due to stress and medical leave, attrition and loss of reputation. These are hard messages to deliver and no one does it better than our conflict specialist, Cinnie Noble.

A lawyer, mediator and executive coach Cinnie is a well-known international speaker on topics relating to organizational conflict. She not only conveys the importance of strengthening leaders' knowledge, skills and abilities to better manage and engage in conflict. In her presentations, Cinnie also invites organizations to consider the importance and the ways of building cultures of conflict competence. In doing so, she draws on neuroscience and conflict management principles, and articulates the necessity to include dignity as a core organizational value.

Cinnie has a knack for making a serious topic interesting and fun while also ensuring audiences walk away with valuable learning and the impetus to improve workplace civility, staff engagement and the way your human assets treat each other.